Improvement in the manufacture of axes



NYPETERS. PHOTaLITHOGRAPHER. wASHmGYou, D c.

Unirse Stearns Fairness @einen JOI'INLIPPINGOTT, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

EMPRVEMENT HN THE MNUFCTUH 0F A.

Specification forming part of Lei ters Patent No. EQQ'E', dated February 2l, 1960.

b tu whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Lirrmcorr, of

Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the llianufaeture of Axes and other Edge Tools, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this speeiiication, in which- Figure lis a vertical section through the center ofan ax through aim, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a vert-ical section of an ax through ma, Fig. l, the plane of section of Fig. 1 being at right angles to the plane of section of Fig. 2, Fig. 3 is an exterior side view of an ax after it is iinished, showing by dotted lines the position of the ax and of the steel bit. Fig. Ll is an exterior end View of Fig. 3, showing the position of the root of the steel bit by dotted lines.

My invention consists in the making of axes, as hereinafter described, with a head of castiron cast into and around a bit consisting of a piece or plate of steel cut to the suitable size and shape, and afterward finished, as a new article of manufacture.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvement in the mode of manufacturing axes and ot-her edge tools, I will proceed to describe the mode of operation, and in so doing l shall describe the construction of an ax on my improved method, which, it will be seen, is readily applicable to the manufacture of hatchets and various other edge tools.

In the several figures, a is the bit ofthe ax, by which I mean the steel piece which forms the cutting-edge. b b are perforations or holes in the bit. v(l is the root ol' the bit, or that part of it which is embedded in the poll after the ax is cast. d is the poll or head of the axe, extending from the butt-end at y to the point af, where the cast-steel bit appears from under the east-iron; and e is the eye ofthe axe, through which the helve or handle is inserted `when the ax is in use.

The ax is molded in the sand by means of a pattern of suitable size and shape, having at the bit end a piece of the exact conformation of the steel bit to be used, and after the pattern is withdrawn the steel bit around which the poll is to be cast is carefully inserted in the space left for it in the mold, and a core for the eye of the ax is prepared in the usual manner and suitably placed in the mold. y

The bit c of the ax is made of cast-steel. The edge is left blunt and unfinished, ready to be drawn out under the hammer after the poll has been cast onto it. The upper end of the steel bit is tapered oil' at the sides, diminishing in width, as seen in Fig. l, and the edges may be serrated, so as to increase the hold of the bit in the cast head. Near the root of the bit' there are one or more perforations, Z) b, of any convenient shape or size, drilled J(or punched with adie) through the steel, for the purpose of permitting the metal, when east into the mold to form the poll, to pass through from one side of the bit to the other. The root of the bit (as I call that part which is covered after casting with the cast metal) is thinner than that part ofthe bit which is iinmediately below the rootiat (See Fig 2.) The surface of the bit on both sides is curved or sloped at thejunction of the root and lower part, so as to allow the cast metal to run over a short distance on the fall of the bit below the root, as seen by the curved line in Fig. 8, the cast metal thus breakingjoint over the pointx, which makes a better iinish to the tool. The root c ofthe bit does not extend up into the poll as far as the eye e, as this might serve to weaken the ax at that point, but extends to within a short distance of it, so as to be firmly embedded in the cast metal of the poll or head. This is seen clearly in all the figures.

lZ-efore placing` the steel bit a in the mold the root c of the bit (being so much of the bit as will be embedded in the cast metal) must be first carefully cleared of all scale by means of acid or by grinding, so that no obstacle may be presented to the welding `of the steel and cast-iron, and the root c of the bit is then well dusted with powdered borax to assist the welding process.

rIhe metal used for the head or poll is hot blast soft iron, as that makes the best head, and mostreadily :forms a welding union with the cast-steel.

The ax is east vertically-that is, with the cutting edge downward and butt end uppermost inthe position shown in Fig. 4. The

gate through which the melted metal is poured A into the mold is placed at one end of the ax just at the point @where the root of the bit commences, and this is important, as the molten metal running over the cast-steel at that point, where it is most important to have a welding union with the cast metal and steel, heats the steel so much as to facilitate greatly the welding process.

The steel bit and core for the eye being set in the mold as before stated, the met-al is poured in through the gate and soon fills the mold. After the metal is cold it will be found on removing the ax from the mold that the cast-iron poll and steel bit are firmly united, and that where it breaks joint over the steel bit at the point the cast-iron head or poll has welded firmly with the steel bit. The steel bit is then drawn under a hammer or otherwise shaped, and it is then tempered in the usual way, after which the sides and face of the ax are ground downto auniform surface, and the ax is finished by polishing, ready for market.

If it is desired to give a greater degree of softness to the cast metal in the poll, the ax (or other tool) may be, after casting, putinto an annealing-oven and heated to a cherry red, and there allowed to remain for about two hours, and afterward allowed to cool slowly. It is then tempered, ground, and polished, as before stated.

In drawing the bit under the ha1nmer,after the poll is east on it, care should be taken not to heat the cast-iron too highly, and not to allow it, when hot, to come in contact with water,as that would make it brittle. It' preferred, the cutting end of the'bit may be drawn out and shaped before it is put into the mold. The bits may be formed by rolling out with rollers a'sheet of steel of the required shape, and then cutting ofi from it pieces of the proper width. If preferred, metallic molds may be used, and the butt-end of the poll cast against.

sufficiently to prevent any looseness between the two parts.

lt is manifest that this inode of casting is applicable not only to axes, but also to almost all kinds of edge tools used for working in wood, the steel bit being made of suitable shape,the tine or root ofthe bit (or cutting part) being extended into the cast-iron, and perforated, as described, so as to form a iirm con` neetion between the parts.

Having thus described my improvement in the inode of manufacturing axes and other edge tools,what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Making axes with a head of cast-iron cast onto and around a steel bit, and afterward finished and dressed ashereinbefore described, as a new article of manufacture.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN Lirv rINooTT, have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN LIPPINCOTT. lV'itnesses:

AND. Molllas'rnn, MARTIN G. C'UsHrNG. 

